Residential homes in the Southwest Florida area can experience backflow issues caused by things such as changes in pressure, cross-connections, and back siphonage, among others. Backflow can be a dangerous situation that can put your health at risk. That’s why we here at Plumbing & Cooling Nerds recommend investing in backflow prevention for your home.
Let’s look at the importance of backflow prevention and what it entails.
What Exactly Is Backflow?
Generally, water should flow through your plumbing system in a single direction. When water enters your home through the main supply line, it will move to areas like your sinks, toilets, showers, and appliances. Whenever there is an issue with the plumbing system in your home that affects the flow and pressure in your pipes, this can cause backflow. The reason backflow is such a dangerous issue is that it causes contaminated water to back up into things like drains and toilets. This affects the safety of your water supply and plumbing system.
Backflow Prevention Importance
It’s ideal that you are not encountering any type of contaminated water. There are all kinds of dangerous substances that could be in this contamination, such as pathogens, viruses, chemicals, and debris. Not only will drinking this contaminated water pose health risks, but you don’t want to bath in it or clean using this water.
Unfortunately, backflow can occur at different levels of severity. You may not always be able to tell that backflow is an issue in your home until you become sick. Not to mention, backflow in your home can lead to problems in the homes that are nearby as well. Investing in backflow prevention devices protects your own household as well as the community around you.
Backflow Prevention Devices
There are several options available if you’re looking to prevent backflow in your home.
Air Gaps
By creating an area of space in between your fixture outlet and the highest point in your fixture, there won’t be an opportunity for backflow to occur.
Check Valves
A check valve is a valve that only allows water to flow in a specific direction. If any backflow were to try and occur, the valve would close. This prevents any contamination of your clean water.
Reduced Pressure Vacuum Breaker
This is a very inexpensive method of backflow prevention that is commonly found in a residential setting. This setup includes a pressure vacuum breaker, a check valve, an outlet shutoff valve, and two test cocks. Ease of installation and effectiveness make this a great choice for backflow prevention.
Double Check Valves
Double-check valves are a great choice for backflow prevention in underground and indoor residential installations. This system includes an inlet shutoff valve, two spring-loaded check valves, four test cocks, and an outlet shutoff valve.
Reduced Pressure Zone Assembly
This is a much more complex backflow prevention setup that is optimal for homes that are at a high risk of backflow issues. It’s also the most reliable. Consisting of an inlet shutoff valve, two spring-loaded check valves, a pressure differential relief valve, four test cocks, and a shutoff valve, a reduced pressure zone assembly may have local law enforcement codes that must be followed precisely during installation. It’s important that you work with an installer that has extensive experience.
Maintenance for Your Backflow Prevention Equipment
While proper installation is imperative for backflow prevention equipment, you also want to make sure that you have your system inspected and maintained by a professional on a regular basis. Your system may need regular flushing to work efficiently.
Also, you may want to consider the installation of a smart monitoring system that will allow you to keep an eye on your backflow equipment. Make sure you’re working with an experienced backflow professional from our team. We can help spot any issues with your equipment that can undergo minor repairs before any major problems occur.
Make sure that you don’t turn off or disconnect any of your backflow equipment to perform DIY maintenance. This can be dangerous to your health as well as illegal in some areas. During the process of routine maintenance or repairs, our team must ensure that there is no water in front of your device. This could cause extensive damage to your equipment or contamination of your home’s water supply.
We recommend that routine backflow maintenance be performed at least once per year.
Determining if Backflow Is a Problem in Your Home
While your plumbing system may be in very good condition, backflow is something that can occur in just about any home in the Southwest Florida area. There are some key signs to watch out for that indicate a potential backflow problem that could escalate into a situation that requires an emergency plumber.
Bad Smells
If you have contaminated water backing up into your home, you’ll usually be able to smell it right away. These smells typically come from faucets, drains, and toilets. This is a plumbing emergency that should be addressed immediately.
Abnormal Water Color
The water coming out of your faucets should always be clear and free of visible sediment. If you have backflow problems that result in contamination, this can result in water that is running brown, pink, or yellow. Make sure that you turn the water off and don’t use it until a professional from our team can come out to your home to assess what’s going on.
Changes in Water Pressure
You should experience ample water pressure throughout your home when your plumbing system is working properly. If you notice a sudden change in your home’s water pressure, you may be at risk of a backflow problem.
If the water pressure drops throughout your entire home, there may be another reason for the change. Ask your neighbors if they are experiencing water pressure issues. There may be an issue outside of your home. Your local water company should be able to provide you with more insight.
Spotting Clogs
Clogs in your pipes can lead to backflow. You can spot a clog by watching out for the signs we’ve discussed above. You can also prevent clogs with annual drain cleaning. Avoid putting items down your drains that have the potential to create a clog, such as food scraps, grease, fats, oils, and more. Also, watch out for pipe leaks or condensation.
If you would like to learn more about backflow prevention or have these devices installed in your Southwest Florida home, reach out to our plumbing services team here at Plumbing & Cooling Nerds.
